Jersey City welcomes champagne, celebrities ... and polo

View full sizeJulia Terruso/The Star-LedgerA crowd gathers at Liberty State Park in Jersey City today for the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic.

JERSEY CITY — The fifth-annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic descended on Jersey City's Liberty State Park today, showcasing a red-carpet lineup of celebrities, crates of champagne and a polo match somewhere in the mix.

Nacho Figueras, widely considered among the top polo players in the world, co-hosted the match between his team, the Black Watch, and the Espresso.

It was the first time the event was held in New Jersey, which Figueras said made for an ideal location.

"I'm very happy. When I heard we wouldn't be able to do it on Governor's Island again, I was really happy to hear we could find a place where the skyline is the backdrop," he said on the red carpet.

The Argentinian native, and model, also said it's exciting to see the sport appealing to wider American audiences.

"My dream growing up was to bring polo to people and get people excited about polo," Figueras said.

Thousands of people set up picnics around the perimeter of the field, sipping champagne and snacking on finger foods. The day was about extravagance — formal, classy and preppy-chic outfits. Not to mention, lots of crazy hats.

Among the notable stars to cross the red carpet were Clive Owen, Minka Kelly, Padma Lakshmi and Tiffany Amber Thiessen.

The event benefited the Work to Ride charity which brings equestrian sports to under-served urban youth. The program is already in a number of U.S. cities, including Philadelphia but has not yet sprung roots in New York, Figueras said. He added he hopes to bring it here.

One of the young women the program has benefited is Shariah Harris, 14, who has played polo through Work To Ride in Philadelphia since she was 9-years-old. She said she stumbled upon the program one day as she and her mom were driving through Fairmount Park in Philadelphia and saw the stables.

"It' s just something very different. And something to look forward to," she said. "Not many people know about it until they start playing."

Across the field from the celebrity cabanas, group picnics blanketed the grass. The color scheme was a wash of pastels, whites and beiges. Most women wore heels and had to battle sinking into the soggy terrain from the overnight rainstorms. A sea of bright yellow umbrellas, the color of the champagne label sponsoring the event, popped against the very-blue sky.

"It's just like 'Pretty Woman,"' said Della Trinidad, 27, of Bloomfield.

She added it was "the most Chinos and loafers" she'd ever seen in one place at a given time. "We're coming from Essex County so this is very different," she said.

Trinidad attended with her two sisters and the three splurged on one of the bottles of champagne. At $195 a bottle, the theme of the day was extravagance.

"We're here to have fun. It's a beautiful day," her sister, Lauren Trinidad, said, as Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" played on speakers in the background. "When are we ever going to be at a polo match again?"